Avatar: the last airbender?
by Professor Fishmeister
Summary: The kids travel to the North Pole in search of a waterbending master, as well as someone Aang hasn't seen in over a century. At the same time, the paths of a young waterbender and a fire nation prince cross. When all secrets are revealed, will love last
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Okay, this is my first ever Avatar story, so please be kind... And as in all of my stories, reviews are my life support, so keep 'em coming! Oh, and just a heads up... I started the plot for this before I watched the episode at the North Pole, and my t.v. station is way behind everyone else's, so... things will be a bit different. This is sorta in my own separate little world I guess...

Disclaimer: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, etc., belong to the geniuses at Nickelodeon. And uh... Almika belongs to me ...go me.

P.S. I also apologize in advance for any spelling mistakes I make with their names...

Chapter One: The Beginning

"_I have just heard news from the fire temple... Avatar Roku is very ill." The monk said shakily, wringing his hands. "They believe he will die within the week unless his condition improves soon."_

_Gyatso didn't respond._

"_The reincarnation... the next in the Avatar cycle would be an airbender." The monk continued._

_Again, Gyatso did not respond._

"_Gyatso, Calira's child... when did you say it would be due?"_

_Gyatso turned to face his fellow monk._

"_Within the week."_

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Aang, it's getting late... shouldn't we land and set up camp?" Katara asked, pulling her fur-lined hood closer around her face to keep out the icy north wind.

"But Katara, we're so close!" Aang replied excitedly, "Don't you want to find a water bending master?"

"The North Pole is still at least two days away. We're not going to lose our chance at finding a water bending master if we stop for the night." Katara laughed. Her blue eyes scanned the great expanse of rippling ocean until she spotted a suitably sized island, it's crisp white snow gleaming in the moonlight. "There's a place where we can stop!" She shouted, pointing a gloved finger in the direction of the island.

"Aw, alright..." Aang answered grudgingly. "Appa, yip yip!" He commanded, flicking the reins. The bison responded promptly, following the gentle tug of the reins to make a fairly smooth landing on the island.

"Finally!" Sokka exclaimed, scrambling down from the animal and onto the snowy ground. "I've got to go find some firewood to defrost these blubber strips!" He said as he pulled said blubber strips out of his pack and looked at them hungrily.

"I'll set up camp." Katara said as she climbed down from Appa. "What about you Aang?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah... me too." He answered distantly as he jumped off the bison's head and into the snow.

Katara looked at him questioningly. "Is something on your mind?"

"Well, sort of... I'm just really excited about meeting the water bending master, that's all." Aang replied slowly.

"Oh come on, Aang. You've been even more excited than Katara ever since we started seeing glaciers again, and she's the water bender." Sokka interceded, piling his stack of twigs in preparation for a campfire.

"Well... I wanted it to be a surprise for when we got there..."

"You wanted what to be a surprise?" Katara asked, her curiosity piqued.

Aang grinned. "I know a water bending master that will teach us."

"How in the world would you know a water bending master?" Sokka asked absently, attempting to light the fire.

"She's not just a water bending master... she's my sister."

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"You have a **sister**?" Sokka exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Katara asked, equally surprised.

"It was supposed to be a surprise. I wanted you to meet her for yourselves." Aang said, grinning.

"But Aang, it's been a hundred years..." Katara said slowly, not wanting to hurt his feelings, "...she might not even be alive."

"No, she's alive, I can feel it." Aang replied excitedly. "That's why I've been so excited, the closer we get to the North Pole, the stronger I feel her spirit."

"Wait, wait, wait, this is crazy! How old was your sister before you were frozen?" Sokka interrupted quickly.

"Sixteen." Aang replied promptly.

"Okay, so we've got a one hundred and sixteen year old sister who you think is alive because you can 'feel' her?" Sokka spluttered. "And what would an air bender be doing at the North Pole anyway?"

Aang looked down uncomfortably.

"Wait, you said she was a water bending master... how is that possible?" Katara asked.

Aang looked up, his eyes shining in recollection of a memory. "There's no real name for it... it's only happened two other times in history. Sometimes, if the Avatar is near death and then is revived, half of the Avatar spirit is reincarnated."

"Right. Hundred and sixteen year old sisters, half reincarnated Avatars... I'm going to sleep." Sokka said, forgetting his fire and instead rolling out his hide sleeping bag.

"We should all get some sleep." Katara agreed, rolling out her own sleeping bag.

Aang nodded and leaped onto Appa's back. He lay down and folded his arms under his head, looking up at the stars.

"Maybe she's looking at the stars too." Aang whispered to Appa, and Momo who had scampered beside him. Aang sighed, then turned on his side to sleep.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"We're approaching the North Pole Prince Zuko, we're two days away at most... you should be happy." Iroh said, regarding his nephew with one bushy eyebrow lifted questioningly.

"I won't be happy until the Avatar is captured and on my ship." Zuko answered sourly. "He escaped from me once... it won't happen again."

Iroh nodded solemnly and stood up from his stool. He walked to the door, then paused, turning to face Zuko.

"You've aged beyond your years, Zuko."

Zuko's gaze didn't shift. "Thank you uncle."

"No Zuko," Iroh said, walking out the door, "It is not a good thing."

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"Wake up you guys! Come on!" Aang said loudly, shaking his friends awake.

"Aang," Katara groaned groggily, "it's barely light out."

"We want to get an early start! The sooner we leave the sooner we get to the North Pole." Aang answered excitedly, jumping up onto the head of his flying bison.

Katara grudgingly rolled out of her sleeping bag and folded it, savagely shook her brother out of his attempt to fall back asleep, and climbed onto Appa's back.

"Come on, slowpoke!" She yelled down to Sokka.

Sokka wriggled out of his sleeping bag and stuck out his tongue at his sister.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He grumbled, taking his sleeping bag under one arm and trudging over to the great beast that was their transportation. He climbed up onto the animal's back and let himself flop down over the side of the small platform that was strapped to Appa's back.

"Alright, go. I'll just sleep right here." Sokka said, yawning.

Aang needed no further prodding. "Appa, yip yip!" He shouted.

The creature immediately leapt into the air, ascending rapidly until they were flying just below the clouds. Aang relaxed his hold on the reins and turned around to face the platform.

Katara noticed his gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"I think you'll like her." He answered simply.

"Like who?" Katara asked.

"My sister, I think you'll like her." Aang smiled, "I think she'll like you too."

"Aang," Katara said softly, "you don't even know if your sister is still alive. I don't want you to get your hopes up."

"But Katara, I told you." Aang answered, unfazed by her remark. "I can feel her, I just know she's alive."

Katara attempted a smile. "Well, then I'll be looking forward to meeting her."

Sokka groaned. "Are you guys talking about Aang's sister again? The half Avatar or whatever?"

"Half of the Avatar's spirit reincarnated, and yes, we are." Katara answered quickly.

Sokka folded his arms over his chest. "There's no such thing. If she ever moved water it must have been either fluke, or magician's work."

"You said the Avatar wasn't real either." Katara responded, knowing she'd won the argument.

"This is different! We'll never know anyways, it's not like she's going to just pop back to life and show us."

Katara shot her brother a warning look. "Just a second Aang, I need to talk to Sokka." She said, as she went over to sit beside Sokka.

"Why are you humoring him? You know she couldn't still be alive after all these years." Sokka whispered.

"Sokka, this is the last piece of his old life he has left to hold on to. We have to hope..." Katara looked over her shoulder at Aang playing jovially with Momo. "...for Aang's sake."

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...And so ends chapter one. If you like the story or have some advice for me, please leave me a review!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hey! I got 2 reviews! Thanks so much bustamove and brian! You guys are awesome! Anyhow, I know some parts in the beginning might seem lame or weird right now, but trust me, it will all wrap up and make sense... just don't give up on me and you'll see :)

Disclaimer: Avatar belongs to Nickelodeon, so on and so forth, the concept and writing of this story along with any additional characters belong to me.

...Wow, that sounded all professional and stuff...

Chapter 2: The North

_The monks watched in anticipation from their raised seats. All eyes were trained on the infant before them. The child looked so very small, it was almost hard to imagine that she could grow up to be someone so powerful. Breaths were held as the child looked at the seemingly normal assortment of playthings. Of course, they were normal... save for one. The one that would make the child's destiny clear. The young girl finally reached out toward the toys. Her small hand hovered above the Avatar's traditional toy of choice for a time before, with a wide grin, her fingers closed around the polished surface of a wooden figurine carved in the shape of a crane. The Avatar's toy lay untouched as she held her selected plaything in her hands, gurgling in delight._

"_But how is it possible?" One monk whispered to another. "The next in the Avatar cycle is an airbender!"_

"_Perhaps the child has been born to the Northern Air Temple." Another monk offered._

_All eyes turned to Gyatso._

"_Gyatso, you said only days ago that you thought she was the Avatar." A monk said indignantly._

"_I merely said she possessed characteristics similar to that of the Avatar. I am as surprised as you all." Gyatso responded coolly._

_Like a gift sent from the Spirits to relieve the tension, a young airbender of about seventeen wearing the billowing attire of messenger ran up to the monks, his staff still unfolded halfway. The wings of the glider caught the wind as he raced toward the group, making the poor young man run harder just to fight the drag. "A message! I carry a message from the monks of the Fire Kingdom!" He gasped as he reached them, out of breath from his long route._

_The monks glanced at each other and took the message from the bender's grateful hands._

"_What does it say?" Gyatso softly questioned the monk holding the letter._

"_The Avatar lives! The healers managed to revive him." The monk looked up at the others. "There was no Avatar reincarnation."_

_Monk Gyatso looked over at the child, now leaving with her mother, and nodded absently._

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Aang's eyes remained glued on the icy blue water in front of them. His gaze swept across the horizon line, looking for what he knew would be there.

"What are you looking for Aang?" Katara asked, moving up to the front of the saddle to try and see what Aang was seeing.

"My sister told me stories of it in her letters. She said the outer wall of the North Pole was like a glass fortress, made out of ice thicker than Appa."

Appa groaned his distaste at the comparison.

Taking no notice, Aang continued. "She was only able to send me a couple letters, but she always mentioned the wall."

"Why was your sister only able to send a couple...?"

"There it is!" Aang exclaimed, cutting her off.

Katara looked in the direction Aang was pointing, and sure enough saw the familiar glint of sunlight reflecting off ice.

"Sokka, look!" Katara cried happily, straining her eyes to get a better look at the outer wall of the North Pole.

Sokka crawled up the front of the platform and looked out over Katara's shoulder.

"We're actually here." Sokka breathed.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The door to Zuko's cabin opened slowly, metal hinges groaning with the strain of years of poor maintaining. Iroh walked over to his nephew, who at this time was sitting motionless in meditation.

"You should come up to the deck, Zuko. We'll be seeing the outer wall of the North Pole soon... about an hour or so I would say." He said slowly. "You've been keeping yourself cooped up in here for some time."

"I need to be ready for the Avatar." Zuko replied plainly, not opening his eyes.

"It would do you good to get some fresh air..." Iroh continued. "The air down here can get pretty musty." He added, wrinkling his nose to prove his point.

"I don't need fresh air. I want to be alone."

Iroh sighed. "Very well then." He slowly walked over the creaking floorboards and left the cabin, closing the door gently behind him.

Zuko opened his eyes and stared into the dancing orange flames of the candles in front of him. He frowned and the flames rose higher, flickering wildly.

"No matter what, this time..." He clenched his fists, feeling every moment of the battle with his father and the eve of his exile flood back into his ragged heart. He clenched his fists, driving the flames of the candles into a violent frenzy. "...I shall not fail."

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"We're here! We're actually here!" Katara exclaimed joyously as she admired the waterbending skill that had been put into the outer wall.

"It's even better than I thought it would be!" Aang murmured excitedly.

A small group of canoes, dyed blue in the traditional waterbender style, approached the small band of travelers.

"Halt! Who wishes to enter the North Pole?" A bearded man, obviously the leader, shouted in a booming voice.

"The Avatar, and his friends from the southern water tribe!" Katara called back. Aang did a small bit of airbending between his hands to add a bit more believability to their story.

"Such visitors are always welcome." The man answered, trying not to appear surprised. He shouted out a command to the oarsmen and the group of boats quickly began moving back to the wall, escorting the group aboard the flying bison into the North Pole. Seeing the scouts returning, the lookouts on the top of the wall began bending the ice, so as to let the procession through. Aang, Katara, and Sokka admired their surroundings, in awe of the amount of strength and skill needed to perform such a task. Finally, they passed the wall and entered the city. The bearded man turned to face the odd group of benders, non-benders and animals.

"This is where I leave you. Welcome to the North Pole." He smiled, revealing a row of slightly crooked teeth. Once this was said, he shouted an order and the canoes began rowing back to their post.

"Thanks!" Aang waved as they left, steering Appa down to the snowy bank of the river and jumping off. Katara and Sokka climbed down from the bison and stood beside Aang.

"So, Aang... are you ready to find a bending master?" Katara asked without thinking.

"Am I ever!" Aang exclaimed, taking Katara's and Sokka's arms and running into the marketplace. "Someone here will have to know where she lives!"

"Oh, no Aang, I didn't mean..." Katara fumbled, furious with herself for having had such a loose tongue.

"That's great Katara, that's just great." Sokka grumbled, rolling his eyes. Katara shot him a piercing look and he didn't take the matter further.

Aang raced up to the first vendor he found and slammed his hands down on the makeshift wood counter.

"Do you know a one hundred and sixteen year old woman?" Aang asked, grinning at the shopkeeper. The vendor blinked a few times, but when he realized the boy was in fact serious, he shook his head from side to side. Aang gave him a sideways look and walked over to another stall.

"He must be new here... everyone else will probably know her." Aang muttered, half to himself. He approached the other vendor and smiled. "Excuse me, do you know a one hundred and sixteen..."

"Sorry kid, you're going to have to play your little game somewhere else, I have fish to sell." The man replied promptly, turning away to bellow out the quality of his produce to a nearby shopper.

Aang took a step back. "You don't know her either?"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Katara made her way softly into Aang's room. The chief of the Northern water tribe had given them the use of a fairly large structure situated next to the palace. It had often been used in the days of old as a guesthouse for visiting chiefs, kings, and nobles. The chief had said it would be his honor to allow the Avatar and his companions to stay. Katara looked sadly at her friend, sitting in the center of the room, head turned down.

"How could nobody know her?" He asked quietly.

Katara gave a heartfelt sigh, and sat down beside him. "Aang, you have to understand... hardly anyone lives to be that old. I don't think she's alive Aang."

Aang gave Katara a look that reminded her, with a sharp pang of guilt, of the look he'd worn when he had discovered that Gyatso had been killed. "I know... but why do I still feel her? Her presence still feels so strong."

Katara wrapped her arms around the boy and squeezed him gently. "Sometimes we hold on to things so tightly... we have a hard time letting go. I'm sure she lived a good life Aang."

Aang nodded slowly. "I think you're right. I just... I just thought for sure someone would have at least remembered her." He looked up at Katara, eyes a bit brighter. "She was one of the best benders in the North Pole."

Katara nodded. "Well, if you're feeling better you should come to the dining room. Dinner's ready."

Aang nodded and stood up. Katara walked down the hallway with Aang in silence, Aang's question pestering her mind like a nagging insect. Why _did_ no one remember one of the best benders in the North Pole? Why did no one remember the girl who bent air and water?

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(Sigh) Once again, I plague you with short chapters. Hope you liked it and uh... a cookie in the shape of Aang's head to all that review! xD


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hey guys! Wow, got a lot of reviews on that last chapter (well, for me anyways) so thanks everyone who reviewed! Sorry this chapter took a while... my cousins came to visit and we had two birthday parties so things were pretty hectic to say the least.

Disclaimer: Aang, Katara, Sokka, etc. belong to Nickelodeon, all other stuff belongs to me. We've been over this.

Chapter 3: Frozen in Time

_The girl's heart raced as she made her way back to the temple, running as fast as her small legs would take her, trying not to look back. She scrambled up the large stone slabs that made up the stairway to the cavernous foyer and ran inside._

_Gyatso turned around just in time to have the five year old jump up into his arms. It had been a little less than a year since Calira had died giving birth to a son, but the loss of his dear friend, followed swiftly by the death of her husband, had aged him considerably. He looked down in surprise, his expression immediately softening in recognition._

"_Why, what's wrong little one?" He asked softly, stroking her dark brown hair._

"_I didn't mean to, Monk Gyatso, I promise! It was an accident! I'll never do it again!" The girl bawled, burying her small head in the monk's chest._

"_Now now, it can't be all that terrible." Gyatso said with a warm smile. "I'm sure it can be worked out. What is it you have done?"_

_The girl wiped a tear off her face with the back of her hand. "I... I moved the water."_

_The monk froze. "What did you say?"_

"_The water... I moved the water in the reflecting pool." The girl hung her head. "I didn't mean to, I promise I won't do it anymore."_

"_No, what you've done is not a bad thing. There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't move the water anymore."_

_The girl looked up in surprise at the monk's response. "Really?"_

_Gyatso nodded. "You have done a very special thing, young one."_

"_Special?" The girl asked, brightening up. "I did something special?"_

"_Yes." Gyatso said, putting the child down on the floor and taking her hand in his. "Now, why don't you move the water again for me. I think I'd like to see this."_

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The three friends ate their dinner in silence, no one wanting to bring up what they knew was on each of their minds.

"Aang? I know you're not used to this kind of food, but it's really very good. I think you'd like it." Katara ventured, making an effort to break the silence.

Aang looked down at his untouched plate, then pushed it away. "I'm not very hungry, Sokka can have it if he wants."

"Gladly!" Sokka exclaimed, but was instantly given a warning look from Katara and backed down. He folded his arms over his chest glumly. "I mean, uh... we'll just have to save that for when you're hungry."

Katara gently put her hand on top of Aang's. "I know it's been hard for you Aang. I was hoping your sister would be here just as much as you were."

"It's not just that." Aang said, looking down at the table. "I feel like I deserted her. I deserted everyone."

"There was nothing you could have done. If your sister was still here, I think she'd be very proud of you." Katara said, the corners of her mouth curving into a small smile.

Aang looked up at Katara. "Really?"

The waterbender nodded in response.

Aang smiled and rubbed his hands together, looking over at his plate. "All right! Time to try some water tribe food!"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"There it is!" Iroh exclaimed, pointing to the outer wall of the North Pole. "Aren't you glad you came up on deck?"

Zuko ignored his uncle's comment and turned to the crewmen. "We drop anchor. My uncle and I will be using the longboat from here."

The crew responded promptly, immediately dropping the anchor into the icy Northern waters.

"Nothing like a good long rowing." Iroh grumbled sarcastically as he stretched out his arms.

"We'd better get started if we want to make it by dark." Zuko said impatiently.

Iroh slowly walked over to the longboat and gingerly lowered himself in beside his nephew. "Let's get started then."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Zuko gave one last mighty pull, and with a low grunt was finally able to pull the boat out of the water and onto the snowy shore. He grimaced as he was instantly hit with an icy spray of water, courtesy of the large waves pounding on the protruding rocks and ice. He shivered and quickly walked over to where his uncle sat, a small inviting-looking fire flickering in front of him. Zuko sat down beside Iroh and immediately began blowing hot steam out of his nostrils and into his hands for warmth.

"There's nothing like the northern sky at night." Iroh commented, admiring the bright dusting of stars.

"What difference does it make where you see the stars?" Zuko answered, still concentrating on warming his hands.

Iroh sighed. "I hope one day you will know, Zuko."

Zuko gave him a strange look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Iroh didn't respond. He looked back up at the stars. "You know, there is more to life than the Avatar."

"Capturing or not capturing the avatar controls my fate." Zuko answered flatly.

Iroh laid a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Zuko, you control your own fate."

Zuko sat in silence while his uncle stood up and began walking back and forth, his eyes roaming over the large sheets of ice rising up from the ground.

"What are you doing, uncle?" Zuko asked, standing up and begrudgingly walking beside him.

"Oh, nothing of much importance." Iroh replied. He turned to look at Zuko, a playful twinkle in his eye. "I heard a water tribe legend once, when I was very young. About a warrior, frozen in time outside the outer wall." He winked at his nephew. "I guess I've always wanted to see if it was true."

"You know it can't be true, uncle." Zuko said, trying to sound condescending, though the corners of his mouth threatened to curl into a smile.

"Of course, but you can't keep an old man from looking, can you?" Iroh answered good-naturedly. Abruptly, he stopped walking and began examining a wall of ice.

"Strange..." He muttered to himself, as he ran his hand along a smooth ripple in the icy wall.

"What is it?" Zuko asked, walking over to see what it was he was looking at.

"And it's not just here..." Iroh continued to himself, running his hand along the ripple to find considerably more ripples in the ice.

"Uncle, what are you doing?" Zuko asked, exasperated.

"This whole wall..." Iroh said, still to himself. He turned to his nephew. "Zuko, look at this!"

"Look at what? It's ice." Zuko remarked, not finding his uncle's antics amusing in the slightest.

"Yes, but look at the difference between this wall of ice..." Iroh pointed to the ice he was standing in front of. "...and the other ones." He finished, pointing to another wall of ice.

"Ripples in the ice. What difference does it make?" Zuko asked, becoming agitated.

"The difference it makes, is this ice was made by the forces of nature..." He turned back to face the rippled ice. "...and this one, was made by a waterbender."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Why would a waterbender make a wall of ice out here?" Zuko asked, still sceptical of his uncle's explanation. "Practice?"

"No, I don't think so." Iroh said, studying the ice. "See how it curves inward? It is encasing something. Like a protective shell."

"But what would it be protecting?" The young firebender prodded.

"That, I don't know. Perhaps long lost treasures of the water tribe." Iroh said, his eyes twinkling playfully.

"It could be anything." Zuko commented, running his hand along the ice.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Iroh said promptly, his hands bursting into flames. "Are you up for a little treasure hunt?"

Zuko found himself smiling at his uncle's enthusiasm in spite of himself. "If you insist, uncle."

"Then let's get to it!" Iroh grinned, placing his flaming hands onto the surface of the ice.

The prince rubbed his frigid hands together before igniting them and putting them on the ice a short distance from his uncle. Soon steam was rising from the rapidly melting wall of frozen water. After labouring on this task for what seemed to be hours, Zuko became considerably less excited about this idea of his uncle's. He could feel each minute ticking by pushing him into deeper agitation.

"Surely we must be getting close by now." Zuko grumbled, feeling the melted water trickle down his arms and soak his already damp sleeves.

"I believe so." Iroh answered, shaking water droplets off his hands. "But perhaps we should take a rest."

Zuko nodded and took his hands off the ice. He turned to join his uncle, but found himself turning back to look at his work. He had indeed made a great deal of progress, melting out quite a large quantity of ice from the frozen wall. Steam still hung in the air. Zuko cleared the air with his hand, then took a closer look at the cavity he had made. When he was finally able to get a good look at the ice, his eyes grew wide and he stepped back with a start.

"Zuko, what is it?" Iroh asked with concern, jumping up and hurrying over to his nephew.

"There's... someone in there!" Zuko stuttered, for a moment unable to form the right words.

"What?" Iroh's bushy eyebrows knit into a frown. "Show me."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Easy does it now..." Iroh said, gently running his heated hands along the ice. "We're getting close now, we don't want to burn him."

"I can't believe the story is true. If this warrior is over a century old... perhaps he'll know more about the Avatar!"

"You have a one-track mind Zuko." Iroh mumbled, shaking his head.

A deep rumble split the air, followed by a sharp crack.

"Here it comes! Step back!" Iroh shouted to his nephew over the continuous cracking of ice.

Zuko watched as the ice encasing the silhouette of the figure began to splinter, sending shards of ice flying in all directions. Three large cracks made their way out from the center, making jagged paths in the ice.

"You'd better be ready to catch him when he falls out of the ice. A bump on the head isn't the most pleasant way to wake up." Iroh commented.

Zuko nodded, shielding his face from the ice shards with his hands. He squinted at the large cracks. They had gotten wide enough that he thought he could make out the colored cloth of the figure's clothing behind the sheet of ice. Finally, with a final crack, the ice collapsed. The figure fell limply out of their icy prison, plummeting headfirst toward the ground. Acting quickly, Zuko jumped forward, catching them before they hit the ground. He was immediately surprised. The man was much lighter and had a much slimmer build than he had expected. Even his attire was a surprise. His clothes were hardly that of a warrior, and could barely even be considered to be that of a man. Zuko turned the figure's head toward him to look at the man's face. He almost cried out in surprise to find that the face he was looking at was not a man, but a young woman. She shifted slightly, a low moan escaping her lips. With some difficulty, her eyes opened and she groggily looked up at the firebender.

"Thank you." She whispered, before falling back into unconsciousness.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Aang sat up rigidly from what had been, mere seconds before, a peaceful sleep and began gasping for air.

"What is it Aang?" Katara asked, woken up by her friend's unusual behavior.

"I don't know... something's happened." Aang replied breathlessly.

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Ah yes, the thickening of my plot begins! Wow, lots of Zuko and Iroh in this chapter... Anyways, I hope you liked it, it's about a page or so longer that the last chapter (I'm trying to lengthen my chapters up a bit... I'm terrible with posting lots of short chapters) And remember, reviews make my fingers type! Luv you guys: )


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Oh my gosh, so many pwettiful reviews! I must have read each one at least three times! You guys are so nice! So, as promised, here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: Avatar doesn't belong to me. If it did, this story would have been an episode.

Chapter 4: Almika

_The girl sat sprawled out on her stomach, lazily bending water from the bowl in front of her into curving forms. She frowned, and the water crackled into gleaming ice. She stood up and walked onto the balcony. The girl looked down wistfully at the boys in the courtyard, playing games and practicing their bending._

"_Gyatso..."_

"_Yes, little one?" The monk answered, walking over and standing next to the six year old._

"_Why can't I learn to bend like that?" She asked, pointing to a boy who was currently in the process of creating a gust of wind._

"_That type of bending is for battle." Gyatso explained. "If war ever came to the temple, it would be up to them to defend us."_

"_Why can't I learn to defend the temple?" The girl asked, huffily. "I could do it just fine."_

"_I'm sure that you could, but it's against tradition." He sighed. "The monks are blind, their eyes are trained so intently on the past, they cannot see the present."_

"_But... I can waterbend! Is there an airbender tradition against girls waterbending?" The girl pressed._

_The monk looked over at the young girl's face, beaming in youthful excitement, and smiled._

"_No, I don't believe there is."_

"_Will you teach me, Gyatso? Please?" She asked, clasping her hands together._

_The monk gave in. "Of course I will." He smiled._

_The girl smiled back. Suddenly, her small nose wrinkled in thought._

"_What is it?" Gyatso asked, putting a hand on her shoulder._

"_The boys down there are airbenders... but I airbend and waterbend... what am I?"_

"_Well... you're both. You are like half of an Avatar." Gyatso smiled, "Why, you're a Halvatar of course."_

"_Halvatar..." The girl repeated, grinning. "I like that name." She skipped beside Gyatso, who was walking out from the balcony._ _"I hope the baby likes it. I'm going to teach it to waterbend too!"_

_Gyatso laughed. "It will be a while before he can bend, my dear. And I'm afraid that I don't think you'll be able to teach it to waterbend." He smiled and ruffled her hair. "But I'm sure you're going to have lots of fun together none the less."_

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The girl felt herself slowly returning to consciousness, regaining feeling in her body. She was surprised to feel a cold sensation run through her.

_Snow?_

Why was she outside? Suddenly, the memories came flooding back to her. Walking along the outer wall, the sudden feeling that something was wrong, then falling, someone catching her, looking up into the face of a boy, she didn't know who he was, but he had caught her before her headlong fall.

_Thank you..._

The girl slowly, groggily opened her eyes, groaning as her light-deprived eyes were suddenly met with the harsh glare of the morning sun, magnified by the ice. She waited patiently for her vision to focus, and found herself looking at the very place she remembered standing before she blacked out. She stood up slowly and with some degree of difficulty, and walked over to an impression in the ice. She ran her hand along the impression, then outside of it, feeling the smooth texture of melted ice.

"Firebending."

The girl turned around to find the source of the voice. She saw the boy that had caught her, sitting on the ground preparing a small fire.

She turned back to the impression. "Who was in here?" She asked, already fearing the answer.

Zuko looked at her dubiously. "You were."

The girl nodded distantly. "I was afraid of that."

"How did you get in there anyway?" He asked, lighting the fire with his hand.

"Waterbending accident." She answered, semi-truthfully.

Zuko nodded, attempting to light the fire again, after the first attempt failed.

"The wood's too wet." The girl said, walking over and crouching down next to Zuko. She made a few flowing motions with her fingertips and the water quickly drained from the wood, and into a floating stream of water which was quickly discarded into the ocean. "It should work now."

Zuko quickly lit the fire. The girl watched him, examining his face. His features seemed very drawn and sullen for a boy of his age. He wore armour, so he was obviously a fighter.

"How did you get that scar?" The girl questioned, her eyes quickly drawn to the obvious injury.

"Firebending accident." He answered, mocking her earlier answer.

The girl sighed. Zuko looked at her over his shoulder, paying attention to her appearance for the first time. She had long dark hair, fair skin, and stormy blue eyes. Her outfit was composed mainly of traditional waterbender garments but there were also some foreign influences to it, ones who's origin Zuko did not know. Perhaps the most peculiar thing, were the blue arrows on her forehead and the backs of her hands. He found it odd, that the girl had made no move or attempt at escape. In fact, she seemed almost cordial, like they could have been fellow waterbenders.

"What is your name?" The girl asked, attempting to break the uncomfortable silence.

Zuko considered. "Zuko. And..."

"...and I'm his uncle, Iroh." Iroh interceded, interrupting his nephew.

"I didn't know you were awake already, uncle."

"I didn't know you two were." He replied good-naturedly. "Especially you... what was your name?"

"Almika." She smiled.

His expression suddenly became slightly more perplexed as he looked at her. "Tell me... where did you get that tattoo?"

Almika touched the arrow on her forehead. She looked into the man's eyes, and somehow she knew in the pit of her stomach that he knew about where they came from. She felt her spirit sink.

"The Air Nomads. I went there with my brother as missionaries. They gave me the tattoo as a symbol of their respect for my tribe." She answered, biting her lip. "My brother stayed with the airbenders."

Zuko and Iroh shared a glance. Zuko gave his uncle a questioning look, but his uncle shook his head.

"How long exactly were you in that ice?"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Aang, this is crazy!" Sokka exclaimed. "We've already been to every shop keeper in the tribe! She's gone!"

"No, she's alive. I'm sure of it now. We just have to find her." Aang said, ignoring Sokka's scepticism.

"Aang, maybe Sokka's right... what makes you so sure she's alive now?" Katara asked, running to keep up with Aang.

"I just know. We share half of the Avatar spirit, we're a part of each other." Aang answered, running out into the morning sunlight.

Katara and Sokka looked at each other helplessly, then raced to catch up with the young airbender.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Aang, we've looked everywhere." Katara called to her friend, who was perched on top of a fairly large carved boulder, taking one last look around. He jumped down, landing beside Katara and sighed.

"This doesn't make any sense." He murmured, disbelieving.

"Aang, your sister was an airbender... maybe... maybe she went back and... the firebenders..." Katara stopped there, not wanting to mention what would have happened to his sister.

"No, she didn't go back. She can't go back." Aang said quietly.

"Why? Why couldn't she come home?" Katara questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Aang looked up and met Katara's gaze.

"She was banished from the air temple."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"She's been frozen since the time of the airbenders?" Zuko whispered to his uncle in disbelief.

"Yes. It explains why she's been so natural toward us. She doesn't know of the war." Iroh explained.

"If that's true, she has been frozen for at least one hundred years. Which means she'll have one hundred year old memories..." Zuko said, partially to himself.

"What are you thinking, Zuko?" Iroh asked his nephew, knitting his eyebrows together.

"She said herself that she visited the air temple as a missionary. She would know their traditions, techniques... possibly even the Avatar himself."

"Zuko, not again..." His uncle began, ready to launch into another lecture.

"Uncle, this is one of the only chances I'll get to learn more about how to capture the Avatar." He looked into his uncle's eyes. "I need to take it."

His uncle sighed. "As you wish." He looked over at Almika, who was currently sitting, hugging her knees and staring at the impression in the ice. Iroh turned back to his nephew. "She's had a very hard day, I think the realization of everything is starting to sink in. Try to be kind to her. Get her to open up to you. Then she'll tell you what you want to know."

Zuko nodded and started walking over to the girl, but his uncle grabbed is arm, stopping him.

"One more thing." Iroh said quickly. "Don't mention anything about the airbenders, or how long she's been frozen."

"I won't." Zuko responded, then continued walking over to Almika.

Iroh watched him, then moved his gaze over to Almika and sighed, shaking his head.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Ooh, Iroh seems to know a lot more than he's letting on. Sorry, for the chapter shortness (again) I've been having some serious writers block lately... Hopefully it clears up soon... Keep reviewing!


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Wow, I've been getting a lot of good reviews! I haven't even gotten one flame yet! Thanks guys! Luv ya!

Disclaimer: Avatar belongs to Nick, additional characters belong to Fishmeister.

Chapter 5: Snowballs and Fire

"_Are you ready for this one, Aang?" The girl asked, bending water out of a large urn and letting it flow between her hands._

"_You bet!" The six year old chirped, waiting in anticipation._

_The girl nodded at her brother and swirled the water between her hands into a spherical shape, then hardened it into snow. "Alright, here it comes!"_

_She threw the snowball directly at Aang, who instantly bended the air in front of him into a gust of wind, sending the snowball flying back at his sister. He crossed his arms and gave her a cocky grin._

"_Not bad." She said, bending the snowball harmlessly around behind her. "Try this one."_

_The snowball flew out from behind her back and sped toward Aang. Aang's smug expression was instantly discarded for one of panic, as he tried to uncross his arms and create a suitable air current before the snowball got to him. He had barely begun to create a small breeze, when the snowball came up and smacked him on the side of his head. He looked over at his sister, who was smirking back at him. The longer they looked at each other, the harder it was to contain their laughter and the two siblings soon burst into a fit of giggles._

"_Why does Gyatso say not to play this game with the others?" Aang questioned, still vibrating with laughter. "I'm sure they would like it."_

_His sister's laughter ceased. "The other monks don't like it when I use waterbending, or even airbending for games like this. And they wouldn't want me to practice it with the others."_

"_That's silly." Aang huffed. "What's the difference between me practicing with the others, and you practicing with the others?"_

_She frowned. "Because I'm a girl."_

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Your sister was banished?" Katara gasped. "Why? What did she do?"

"Nothing that deserved banishing." Aang responded, clenching his fists.

Seeing the impact this conversation was having on her friend, Katara decided to dismiss the subject. "We should find Sokka and go get some sleep, it's getting late..." She smiled, "we're going to need our rest if we want to get an early start finding your sister tomorrow."

Aang smiled gratefully. "Thanks Katara."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Almika woke early. She smiled at the comforting sensation of a cool breeze on her face. She looked, bright eyed, at the morning sunlight dancing on the ice, like old friends who had gone separate ways and found each other again. Glancing over at Zuko and Iroh, she saw they were still sleeping soundly. Good. She slowly got up and crept silently toward the firebenders, aware that the ocean waves crashing to shore drowned out most of the noise she made, but wanting to be careful nonetheless. She looked down at Zuko's sleeping form with curiosity. His armour was obviously that of a firebender, but it seemed different from the regulation armour that she remembered seeing. She shrugged it off and crouched down on her knees in front of the boy's face. She cocked her head to one side, examining the scar on his left eye. She had already dismissed the possibility that it had been caused by an accident, or friendly fire from a battle. The harshness of the scar indicated the flame would have had great intensity behind it, an intensity that could not be reached by accident. Perhaps it was given to him in combat with another firebender. Almika carefully extended her hand and gently touched the scar with her finger. Her head was instantly filled with anger, fear, hate, sadness... then an ear-splitting scream of pain and heartbreak unimaginable to her before. She quickly took her finger off the scar and clutched her hand. She looked at the boy, still sleeping soundly and whispered in a cracked voice,

"What happened to you?"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Aang looked out the window, staring at the icy land below. He sat on the windowsill, hugging his knees.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked, sitting beside him.

"I felt something... horible." Aang whispered.

"You think something happened to your sister?"

"I'm not sure." Aang replied, still staring out the window. "I know she was feeling it, but... it was like the feelings... the memories weren't hers." Aang felt a hand on his own, delicate fingers curling around his and giving a comforting squeeze. He looked up into the eyes of Katara.

"Don't worry Aang, we'll find her." She squeezed his hand tighter. "I promise."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Zuko's eyes blinked open. The air had a familiar smell to it, the faint smell of smoke. He turned his head and saw a fire crackling in the middle of their makeshift camp. Iroh was sitting beside it. The girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's the waterbender?" Zuko asked, standing beside him.

"She made the fire and left. She seems to be in a very cheerful mood today." Iroh said, poking the fire with a stick.

Zuko opened his mouth to scold his uncle for letting the girl go, but was struck silent as the sound of humming reached his ears, announcing the waterbender's return to the camp. The girl entered, humming and swinging her body gracefully in time to the tune. She was bending a somewhat stable orb of water, in which two fish were swimming about. Puttinh the orb on the ground, she bended the water away, leaving the fish flopping on the snowy ground.

"Eat up," she said, grinning. "I want to show you something." She walked off to a small tidal pool to wait, still swaying to her humming.

"_Very_ cheerful." Zuko agreed, watching her walk off.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Aang hopped from stone to stone, humming to himself. A small smile was spread across his face.

"Well, you seem to be feeling better." Katara laughed.

Aang stopped his humming long enough to smile back at her. "I am. I feel like we're getting closer." He then turned his head back to see where he was going and continued his humming.

"What are you humming?" Katara asked, fascinated by the cheerful melody.

"An old airbender song, I learned it at the temple. I just can't get it out of my head this morning."

"Ah." Katara responded. She looked around at the snowy, rocky ground. "Do you really think your sister would be here? I mean... why would she be here instead of in the city?"

"I don't know, but we've already looked everywhere in the city. This is the last place I can think of." Aang replied, shielding his eyes from the sun's glare. "If she's not here, I don't know where else to look."

"Maybe a cemetery? Ow! Hey!" Sokka winced, as his sister elbowed him viciously in the ribs.

"Hey, guys..." Aang said, breaking up the battle between the two siblings. "...is that smoke?"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"She's there! I'm sure of it!" Aang exclaimed, jumping from rock to rock with such speed that Katara and Sokka had to run just to keep up with him. Aang finally jumped down to the ground and ran to the spot the smoke was coming from. He ran into the small area and looked around. A small fire lay in the middle, already put out. There were a few imprints in the snow, like someone had slept there, and a few footprints, but those were the only signs of life to be found. Aang's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Sokka and Katara rushed into the camp and looked around. Katara sighed.

"I know you were really hoping she would be here Aang, but there are still other places to look." Katara said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, look at this." Sokka said, bending over a set of footprints.

"What is it?" Katara asked walking over beside him, Aang following at her heels.

"These footprints were made by a firebender." Sokka explained, frowning.

"Firebenders? Here?" Katara exclaimed.

"Yes, two of them." Sokka nodded, pointing to another set of footprints, similar to the ones he was crouching in front of. "And one more person, probably a hostage."

"My sister!" Aang exclaimed. "We have to find them!"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"This way!" Almika called back to the two firebenders, who were having some difficulty crossing the unfamiliar terrain. "We're almost there!"

"It's a good thing, too." Iroh puffed.

Zuko resisted the urge to smile at his uncle and instead concentrated on not slipping over the icy rocks.

"Here it is!" The girl said excitedly, leading them over an outcropping of rocks and onto a fairly flat bit of land, a large frozen over pool of water in it's center.

Zuko regarded it with interest. It was strange how a body of water roughly the size of a fire nation ship could so easily go undetected. Almika walked over to the ice and began bending it into water.

"What is this place used for?" Zuko asked.

"A breathing hole." Almika replied. She smiled, satisfied with her accomplishment of melting the ice, and took Zuko's hand, leading him down to the side of the water.

"I want you to meet someone." She said. The girl then made a few large motions with her arms and the water began to swirl into a small, thin whirlpool. She then stopped and the water flowed back to it's natural state.

"What was that for?" Zuko asked dubiously.

"Calling him." Almika smiled.

A low groan, reminiscent of two iron ships sliding against each other, filled the air. The girl chuckled to herself quietly. "Here he comes."

The smooth surface of the water was suddenly punctured by a large shape, moving with such power and force that it sent a spray of water flying at the three bystanders and created waves large enough to sink a small ship. The beast's head alone was about the size of a large fishing boat with large clear blue eyes that held within them the power and strength of the sea. It's nostrils flared and it shook it's head, waving around two long strands of webbing, one under each nostril. The firebenders stood gaping at the animal towering out of the water before them. The beast looked at them, almost questioningly.

A shrill whistle pierced the air, making the beast turn it's head toward Almika. It stared at the girl for a moment, then it's eyes softened in recognition. It bent it's head down beside the girl, who joyfully wrapped her arms around the creature's muzzle, stroking it lovingly. The beast emitted a low rumbling sound from it's throat. Almika looked back at Iroh and Zuko with a smile.

"This is Kahn. Come on, he won't bite!" Almika laughed.

The firebenders regarded the large animal before them and hoped upon hope the girl's last statement was true. Zuko walked over and laid an unsure hand on the creature's muzzle.

"They are very wise creatures. They live for hundreds of years." Almika explained to the boy.

"How did you tame him?" Zuko asked, feeling the unusual texture of the creature's scales on his palm.

"I didn't." The girl responded promptly. "Three years ago I found him with a harpoon in his back, I guess a fishing boat mistook him for a whale." She climbed up onto the animal's head and inched her way down along his back. "I was able to heal him, and he learned to trust me. The scar from the harpoon is still here though, faint, but still here." Almika looked down at Kahn's scaly skin and ran her hand along it, eyes searching for what should have been there. She looked at Zuko in disbelief.

"It's gone. The scar is gone." She said, hardly believing the words coming out of her own mouth.

"Perhaps it healed in the time that you were frozen." Iroh interjected. "Scars can sometimes heal quickly."

Almika didn't respond. Then she looked back at Zuko and Iroh.

"A small thing like that doesn't really matter. I almost forgot why I brought you here." Almika smiled.

"Wasn't it to see Kahn?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, but also to take you two for a ride." Almika grinned.

"Not me, thank you." Iroh said quickly. "I'm sure Zuko will join you though."

Zuko shot his uncle a fiery look, to which Iroh shrugged and grinned. The girl held out her hand to him to help him up, and he grudgingly took it, climbing up the side of the creature and onto it's back.

"Hold onto this." Almika told him, pointing to one of the spiky ridges running along the beast's back.

Zuko put his hand around one of the spikes and waited. The girl was crouched down near the head, cooing to the creature as if it were no more than a kitten. She then stood up and walked over beside Zuko, grabbing on to a spike near him.

"Are you ready?"

Zuko nodded in response. Almika smiled and pursed her lips, blowing two short, clear whistles. Kahn raised his monstrous head and dove into the water, taking his two passengers along with him. Zuko uttered a startled yell before he was dragged under the water by the mighty beast. He held his breath and closed his eyes tightly. Suddenly, a hand was laid on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and met the eyes of the waterbender, smiling at him. He let out his breath and was surprised to find that he was not in water, but encased in a bubble of air that surrounded the full length of the creature.

"You handled the dive pretty well for a first timer." The girl grinned, eyes sparkling in the blue tinted light.

"How can we breath under here?" Zuko asked in wonder.

"Kahn's scales filter out air from water as he moves." Almika explained.

Zuko looked around at the aquatic scenery. The area seemed strangely devoid of life.

"Why are there no other animals?"

"Aquatic dragons like Kahn are very solitary creatures." She sighed. "They do not truly belong to the air, nor do they truly belong to the sea." She said quietly, stroking the creature's scales.

Zuko sensed some hidden meaning in her last statement, but soon shrugged it off.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kahn's head broke out of the water, bringing along the waterbender and the firebender, clutching to the spikes on the beast's back. The creature lowered it's head to the ground, allowing the two passengers off, then dove back into the sea. Almika looked around for Iroh, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is your uncle?" Almika asked Zuko.

"He's probably gone back to the camp by now." Zuko commented, judging by the sun that it was now late afternoon.

"Alright." The girl responded as they began walking in the direction of their camp.

The two walked in silence for a short time. Zuko looked over at the girl and finally decided that now was as good a time as any to question her about the airbenders.

"What did you learn about the airbenders when you were with them?"

"The airbenders?" Almika asked, surprised by his sudden willingness to start a conversation. "They go by many old traditions, but are usually very fun-loving people. They love games." She gave Zuko a mischievous smile. "I'm going to teach you something that has never been seen by an outsider."

"What? Airbender attacks? Defense tactics..." Zuko was cut off as a snowball came sailing at him and smacked him on the side of the head. Zuko brushed the snow off and looked at the girl, bewildered. "What was that for?"

"The object is to hit the other person with snow, while not getting hit yourself." Almika grinned, bending a ball of snow between her hands.

"I don't..." Zuko quickly spotted the next snowball coming and made a burst of fire in his hands, melting the snow before it got to him.

"You catch on pretty quickly." Almika laughed. "Now let's see if you can throw a..." She was cut off by a snowball hitting her directly in the face. She wiped the snow off her face with the back of her sleeve, and looked at the firebender standing across from her, a triumphant smile spread across his face. Almika smiled back and laughed. She did not realize it, but she had made the boy do something he hadn't done in years.

For a moment, he forgot about the Avatar.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Poor Aang, so close, and yet so far. Alright, sorry for the delay on this chapter, my cousins are here and I've barely had five minutes to write... The ending wasn't quite how I wanted it, but I hope you like it anyway. Oh, and the snowball thing does in fact have a purpose, I'm not just being weird. I don't think my writing was as good this chapter, probably because it was rushed. Well, I made it a couple extra pages longer than I usually do to make up for it so... just review and I'll be happy : )


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter (again...) Life's been absolutely hectic juggling my half finished script, countless unfinished drawings, about four stories (and two new ones in the planning process), homework, and hmm, what was that other thing... oh yes, a life... but that's not exactly a priority now is it? ; )

Hopefully this chapter's better than the last one...

Disclaimer: Avatar and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. Everything else belongs to me.

Chapter 6: The Healing Touch

_The girl hurried inside the temple, quickly pushing the door shut behind her to keep out the gale that raged outside._

"_Monk Gyatso!" The girl gasped._

_The monk turned around in surprise. "My child, what are you doing out so late? You should be in the dormitory..."_

"_I know, monk Gyatso. I need you to do something for me."_

"_At this hour? Get some sleep, and I'll help you in the morning."_

"_But you don't understand." The girl looked up at him with determined eyes. "I want to bear the symbol of a monk."_

_This statement immediately got the monk's attention. "You know the traditions of the temple. The monks..."_

_The girl cut him off. "I have lived in the temple my whole life, I know all the others know. Yet they can show who they are proudly, while I cannot. I want to be able to be proud of who I am."_

_Gyatso regarded the girl solemnly. "If the other monks found out... they would not see it your way. The consequences will be severe." He put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You and your brother were put in my care after the death of your mother and father. I consider you my family. I don't want anything to happen to you."_

"_I know." The girl replied, hanging her head. "But I can't take living like this anymore. I just want to be treated like the others."_

_The monk looked at the girl for a long while, his inner thoughts raging like a mighty storm while his exterior remained calm and collected._

"_I'll help you... my brave little halvatar."_

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Admiral Zhao looked out smugly at the icy ocean. He leaned against the cold metal railing bordering the deck of his ship. He had good enough reason to feel confident, to defy the supposed power of the water nation's people. The corners of his mouth curled into a sadistic grin as he heard the waves crash in resistance against the bow of the great ship, then relent, flowing peacefully along the sides. A fitting metaphor. The water nation would fall to the firebenders, just as the waves fell to his ship. Of this he was certain. He inhaled deeply, smelling the satisfying scent of smoke billowing out the stacks of the countless fire nation navy ships parading behind his.

"The smell of victory."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Almika laughed as the snowball hit her arm, exploding into a fine white powder. She stumbled back and leaned against a tall sheet of ice. Zuko ran over and found, to his great surprise, that he too wore a small grin. He looked around. In all the excitement they had gone quite a ways from where they started, and being unfamiliar with the landscape, Zuko had no idea where they now were. The girl finally was able to cease her fit of giggles and looked around as well. Her eyes suddenly lit up in recognition. She stepped back from the sheet of ice and made a few large flowing motions with her arms, bending out a cleanly cut hole going directly through the thick ice. She smiled playfully at the boy beside her.

"This way."

She began crawling through the opening and, after a moment's hesitation, Zuko followed after her. The going was fairly slow, but finally the two benders came out the other end, landing on the snow covered ground. Zuko took a moment to enjoy feeling the sun on his face again, then looked at his new surroundings. At once, his look of relief turned to one of alarm. There were domes of ice and snow dotting the landscape, a marketplace, bridges, roads... People had already spotted them and began murmuring to each other anxiously.

"We're in the city." Zuko gasped, looking nervously at the group of men that were gathering together.

The girl giggled. "Aren't we the smart one? Come on! I'll give you a tour." She took his hand and began walking.

Zuko didn't budge. He had seen the glint of a spear among the group of waterbenders. He whirled around, preparing to scramble back through the hole and escape, then quickly stopped himself. Once in the hole, he would be at the mercy of the waterbenders, either crushing him in the ice or simply freezing up both exits. Going back the way they came would be suicide, but were the chances of escaping through the city any better? Even as these thoughts came, more and more benders were gathering, and whatever window of opportunity he had was closing fast. He finally whirled around and, grabbing the startled girl by the wrist, began a mad dash away from the group. He heard shouts from behind him and running footsteps, accompanied by the protests of the girl he was dragging along, but they were soon drowned out by the thumping of his own heart in his ears.

"What are we running from?" The girl yelled to her companion.

Zuko didn't answer. He turned his head to look behind him and found, to his horror, that the group was gaining on them. He turned away from the frightening sight and tried with all his might to run faster. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side. He tried to keep going, but lost his footing and stumbled forward, finally falling face first in the snow. He heard a high-pitched scream, then quickly slipped into unconsciousness.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Zuko opened his eyes slowly, letting his vision focus. He looked up and quickly realized, to his surprise, that he was in a cave. A small fire flickered nearby, illuminating Almika's face. Her features were drawn and her fair skin looked even paler than usual. Her hands were placed gently on his side, and small clay pitcher of water sat nearby.

"The spear was in deep. It took me much longer to heal." The girl apologized, concentrating on the spot where her hands lay. After a moment, she removed her hands revealing hardly any evidence of a wound. She folded her hands in her lap and sat silently, looking down at the stone floor so as not to make eye contact with her patient.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I never thought that... I have no idea why..." She bit her lower lip. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I'm fine." Zuko responded, remembering his uncle's instructions not to tell her about the war.

"Still, there must be some way I can make it up to you." She dipped her hand in the pitcher and pulled it out again, now a luminous white. "I can heal the scar on your eye."

She reached her hand forward, but Zuko quickly grabbed it. She looked at the firebender in surprise.

"No, don't..." Zuko said quickly. Upon seeing the slightly hurt expression on the waterbender's face, he slowly explained. "It reminds me of my place." _It's what keeps me searching for the Avatar. It's what keeps me fighting to go home. _He added silently to himself. He cringed slightly. He still remembered his father's fiery blow. He could still feel the flames.

The girl let the white glow fade, then nodded. "I understand. The scar isn't really there, is it?" She placed a hand softly over his heart. "It's here."

Zuko didn't respond.

Almika looked into his eyes, expecting the feeling of sympathy that she had often felt for the young firebender for the past few days, but was startled when a different feeling began to well up within her. She gave him a small, almost confused smile.

"I guess _that_ scar will have to heal first." She said softly.

They stayed that way for a moment, blue-gray and amber eyes locked. Almika leaned forward, close enough to feel his warm breath on her face. She was about to lean in closer, when Zuko interrupted.

"What... what did you learn about the airbenders?" He managed to say.

The girl quickly backed away from him, reading this as a sign to stop. She looked down, her cheeks beginning to take on a pinker hue.

"Oh, the airbenders. They are a very peaceful nation, very spiritual. They prefer to defend themselves rather than attack. Airbending is more of a defence than anything else." She smiled to herself, recalling fond memories. "Which fits their peaceful disposition perfectly."

Zuko felt his heart beat fast with excitement. This information could very well be the key to defeating the Avatar.

Almika smiled for a moment, then stood up and walked over to a suitably flat space on the stone floor of the cave. She laid down silently, watching Zuko as he began setting up fight patterns in his head.

"Zuko." She said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What is it?" He asked, halting his planning for a moment.

She smiled at him. "I think my brother would like you."

Almika turned over to get some rest after the long day, leaving Zuko alone with his thoughts. He watched her rhythmic breathing for a few moments and suddenly wondered to himself why he had stopped her from kissing him. He looked up at the ceiling, realizing regretfully that he knew the answer. _This is not about her. It's about finding the Avatar's weakness._

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Aang stood in the front courtyard of the guest house, gazing up at the stars that dusted the navy blue sky. Katara walked up beside him, followed by Sokka.

"Aang, come inside. You've been out here for a long time." Katara said, pulling her coat tighter so as to keep out the night chill.

"I know you're scared for your sister Aang, but don't worry. We won't let those firebenders have her for long." Sokka intervened.

"It's so confusing..." Aang mumbled, partly to himself.

"What's confusing?" Katara asked.

"My sister... I feel like she's happy."

"Happy as a fire nation captive? I think you're picking up on someone else's brain waves." Sokka said, giving the young monk a good natured tap on the head.

Katara gave Aang a small smile. "Tomorrow morning we'll find her Aang. Don't worry."

Aang nodded slowly and followed his friends back into the guesthouse. Before going inside however, he looked one last time at the starry sky.

"Good night Almika. Wherever you are."

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Okay! We have officially made the connection that Almika is in fact Aang's sister. I know you all of you probably knew that, but now it's official! Wow, a lot of fluff in this chapter... I really don't think I've ever written so much fluff in one sitting. Well, hope you like! Reviews make my fingers type!


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Hey guys! Wow, I'm SOOOO sorry about how late this is guys! Between my computer going caput on me, getting a new one, having to download word perfect on my new computer (I'm picky when it comes to my word processor), and having to somehow salvage the pages of this story I had saved on the old computer… the fates just seemed against me on this, I'm afraid.

Disclaimer: Avatar belongs to Nickelodeon, all the extra stuff belongs to me.

Chapter 7: The Truth is Told

_The girl sat on her knees, her hands folded gently on her lap. She touched the blue arrow on the back of her hand briefly, then looked up into the stormy grey eyes of monk Oylu, staring down at her from his small platform. The three monks surrounding him_ _regarded her with the same amount of scorn. The girl's eyes wandered over to monk Gyatso. He stood a distance away from the council, leaning against one of the many marble pillars that supported the temple. His expression was one that the girl recognized, and this frightened her. It was the same look he had worn when, after countless attempts, he had been unable to revive her mother and father. The girl turned away, unable to bear the pain on the monk's face any longer. She knew Gyatso had tried every way possible to reason with the other monks, but they would not be swayed. The girl frowned and looked up at the monks, her gaze unfaltering. This had been her decision, her doing. And now she would pay the consequences._

_"You have lived in this temple for most of your life, have you not?" Monk Oylu's deep voice echoed through the room._

_"Yes." The girl responded simply._

_"Then you know very well the gravity of what you have done?" He asked, his eyes like poised spears._

_The girl flinched. "Yes, monk Oylu."_

_"And you know what I must do now." He continued._

_The young girl swallowed back the lump that had been growing in her throat, and responded. "Yes."_

_The monk's eyes softened. He really had hoped he would never have to take such extreme action against this girl. Many a time he had caught her practising fighting stances and looked the other way, but this... this was far too much._

_"By breaking such an ancient and sacred tradition, I am afraid the council has no choice but to make the punishment severe." He paused for a moment. The three other monks nodded their approval to proceed with the chosen plan of action. Monk Oylu cleared his throat, "You have been henceforth banished from both the Southern and Northern Air Temples. We will give you the rest of the day to gather your belongings, then you will depart by flying bison with one of our riders. He will take you to wherever you wish."_

_The girl looked up at the monk with wide eyes. Her mouth had suddenly become very dry, and she felt as if she might choke. She attempted to speak, but no words came from her lips. Monk Gyatso as well_ _seemed as if he had been struck on the spot by a bolt of lightning._

_"But... but monk Oylu..." The girl whispered hoarsely, finally able to form words again._

_"The council has already made its decision. You may leave to gather your belongings."_

_The girl stood up shakily, her eyes glazed, as if in a trance. Monk Gyatso quickly shuffled beside her, leading her to the door gently, a shaky hand placed on her shoulder._

_"Wait." Monk Oylu suddenly called out._

_The monk and the girl turned, daring to hope that he had changed his mind._

_Monk Oylu paused, regretting what he had to say next. "You may not speak to your brother. He will be kept in his dormitory until you have left. And you may not try to contact him once you have reached your destination. We cannot risk the Av-... Aang's mind to be corrupted."_

_The girl drew in a quick breath. She could feel tears already welling up in her eyes, blinding her. Monk Gyatso quickly put his arm around her and held her tightly as she sobbed, salty tears drenching his robes. He stroked her hair softly, whispering comforting words into her ear as he lead her out of the temple. The girl stole one last look at the council, sitting straight and firm on their platforms, unaware of just how much damage they had caused._

_They had taken away the only home she had ever known, and now they were taking her brother, the only family she had left. They might as well have ripped her heart from her chest._

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Zuko and Almika had gotten an early start that morning and by now had almost reached their camp, where they hoped Iroh would be waiting for them. Their concerns for Iroh's safety instantly vanished as they entered the camp. The old firebender greeted them with an enthusiastic hug, much to Almika's delight and Zuko's annoyance. While Iroh pressed his nephew about what had taken them so long, Almika busied herself with feeding the campfire.

"Uncle, I was able to get some information about the airbenders." Zuko said, lowering his voice.

"Did you?" His uncle responded, slightly distracted with watching Almika, who seemed only half interested in her work, and would sneak a glance at Zuko every now and then.

"Yes uncle, she told me their weakness, I may finally capture the Avatar!" Zuko said excitedly.

Iroh didn't take his eyes off the young waterbender. The look in her eye was one he recognized instantly. "Zuko," he said, turning to his nephew, "you must stop now. You have gone too far. I know you want the Avatar... but you mustn't do it at the cost of others."

Zuko was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"This girl has feelings for you my nephew... I can see it." Iroh looked at him sternly. "You must never tamper with the emotions of others. People are not pawns for you to use, Prince Zuko." With that, Iroh left to fetch more firewood for the struggling fire.

Zuko stole a glance at Almika, his uncle's words buzzing like an angry hoard of bees in his mind.

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Aang watched restlessly as Sokka began sharpening his boomerang with a stone. He felt as if he would burst if he was forced to wait another minute.

"Sokka, we should be leaving now! We have to find her as soon as possible!" Aang exclaimed, jumping up from his cross-legged position.

"We can't just burst into a fire nation camp and ask them politely to hand over their captive! We have to be prepared." Sokka said, not taking his eyes off his work.

"Sokka's right, Aang. We have to be ready for anything. It could be a trap for all we know." Katara interjected.

Aang sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, they were right. The only thing he could do was wait.

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Admiral Zhao walked irritably to the door of his cabin. He had been rudely awakened by a heavy pounding on the door. He opened the door slowly, brass hinges creaking, and scowled at the soldier who had interrupted his sleep.

"What do you have to report?" He barked.

"A ship has been spotted, sir. The captain is waiting for your orders." The soldier responded promptly, all too aware of the Admiral's short temper.

"A ship?" Zhao repeated. He had been counting on taking the water tribe by surprise, and while he believed in the power of his navy, he was not thrilled about facing waterbenders on the ocean.

"Tell the captain I'll be up shortly." He said, closing the door. The soldier nodded and ran up to the deck.

After hurriedly donning his uniform, Admiral Zhao made his way up to the deck. He quickly went over to the captain, who nodded respectfully as he approached.

"Isn't it peculiar that they would only send one ship?" Zhao asked skeptically.

"That's what I thought." The captain replied, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I've put the lookout on the lookout." He snorted, entertained quite immensely by his own joke.

Admiral Zhao groaned and shook his head. This was not what he needed so early in the morning.

"Captain! Captain!" A wiry man called out, pushing past soldiers unlucky enough to be in his path.

"Ah, here he is." The captain said as the man ran up beside him, panting. He turned to the lookout. "What do you have to tell us?"

"The ship's Fire Nation, sir. Couldn't be one of ours though." He gasped, still out of breath.

"Perhaps abandoned?"

"No sir. There's a small crew aboard."

The Admiral took this in slowly, until a smile began to stretch across his face. This was beginning to be a good day after all. Not only would he soon go down in history as the conqueror of the great Northern water tribe, but as an added bonus, he would also take the Fire Lord's traitorous son into custody. This would certainly put him in the Fire Lord's greatest respects.

"Captain, bring us over to that ship!"

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Zuko sat down uncomfortably on a large stone, next to Almika. She looked at him curiously, trying to read his expression.

"I haven't been completely honest with you since I met you." Zuko said slowly. He looked into her wondering eyes, and for a moment, he didn't want to continue. He took a deep breath and looked down, threading his fingers together on his lap "There's something you should know."

Almika cocked her head sideways. "What is it?"

"The reason we were attacked in the city."

The girl shuddered and hugged her knees. "Zuko, please understand. If I'd thought for one moment…"

Zuko grabbed her shoulder, making her face him. "Listen to me, it wasn't your fault. It was mine."

She looked at him, startled by the gravity she sensed in his tone. "How could that be?"

This was the part that would be difficult. "While you were trapped in the ice... a war broke out. A war between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world."

Almika looked at him strangely. His expression was one of utmost seriousness. "There can't be a war... besides, I was only frozen for a few days. The news wouldn't have reached us yet." She said nervously.

"Almika, the nations have been at war for one hundred years."

She looked at him wide eyed. "That's impossible, that would mean... I was in the ice..." She choked.

"About one hundred years, possibly longer." He said slowly.

The girl began to tremble. "I need to go to the air temple, I'm sure they're finding ways to make peace..."

"The air temple is an uninhabited ruin. The air nomads are an extinct people." Upon seeing her stunned expression, he continued softly. "They were wiped out in the first few years of the war by the Fire Lord's armies."

"No, they couldn't... they couldn't have." Her voice quavered, "What about the monks? The children...?" Her eyes welled up with tears.

"They're gone. All of them." He clutched her hand. "I'm sorry I had to tell you, but you had to know some time."

Almika ripped her hand out of Zuko's grip and backed away from the rock, her back finally hitting the trunk of a tree. She stood there for a moment, leaning against the tree for support. Her eyes seemed to have glazed over, her breathing heavy. Zuko quickly walked over, making sure she was all right. This seemed to break the waterbender's trance. She turned on the firebender, anger seeming to emanate from her very soul. "They never hurt anybody!" She yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "They did nothing! The monks, the _families_! They did nothing! The children, they…" She broke down, sinking to her knees. "The children… my brother…" She put her face in her hands, sobbing.

Zuko found himself almost unable to move. This was the first time he'd actually seen the effects of the war close up. It struck him like an arrow to the chest, that all the history books he'd read, all the tales of "The Great War of the Fire Nation", were nothing greater than the glorification of the destruction of lives. Suddenly, from some source of power he didn't know he possessed, he knelt down beside the girl and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. To his surprise, she flung her arms around him in return, and clutched him tightly.

"He was just a boy…" She choked out, "he was just a little boy."

Zuko shut his eyes and let her cry.

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Okay, there it is! I hope I still have people reading this…


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Hello again! Sorry for the delay, besides preparing for my sister's birthday and working on about five school projects, I got a bit disinclined to write for the last while. Mostly due to a couple flames I received only a day or two after I posted the last chapter. Of course, this might not have bothered me so much… if it weren't for the fact that out of all the reviews I received two were flames and only one was an actual nice comment. I think that would get just about anyone down in the dumps for a little while. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with criticism, as long as it's given with the intention of helping me become a better writer instead of just shooting me down. Please just respect the fact that I am trying to improve, and to bear with me while I figure out how to iron out the kinks of my writing style.

Author's Note: Avatar the last Airbender and all related characters are the property of Nickelodeon, I'm just playing around with them.

Chapter 8: Two Souls, One Spirit

_The girl stepped slowly toward the large bison, her few belongings held close to her chest. The sun had only just begun to rise over the purple-grey mountains in the distance, lightening the early morning sky into a dusky blue. She felt as a criminal might feel, with each step bringing her closer to her execution. The rider gave her a sad nod as she gave him her things, which he placed carefully in the large round saddle buckled around the torso of great beast. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned around to come face to face with Gyatso. He smiled at her reassuringly, but his weathered face showed the slightest sign of holding back tears. Tears of her own began to blur her vision as she wrapped her arms around his neck, she knew, for the last time._

_"Never forget your home, my child. Someday it will find its way back to you." He whispered in a cracked voice. He held out one withered hand, revealing two small wooden charms. On one charm, the sign of the water nation was delicately carved on it's front, on the other the sign of the air nomads._

_"Where you are going, and where you have been." He croaked as the girl took the charms. "You will always be connected to us."_

_Giving the monk one last tearful squeeze, the girl slowly pulled herself away. Her fingers felt numb and awkward as she gently tucked the charms under her sash. Wiping away the tears with the back of her sleeve, she tried to collect herself as she made a small bow, touching two fingers to the arrow on her forehead in the traditional farewell of the monks._

_"May our paths cross again." She whispered, the ceremonial words of parting falling like a cruel mocking on her ears._

_Gyatso silently touched two fingers to his own tattoo and smiled weakly._

_Turning around, the girl swallowed the lump in her throat and prepared to alight onto the bison. She had just begun to channel the appropriate air currents when her ears picked up a faint sound. She squinted slightly. It sounded as if someone was calling her name. She turned back around to see a young boy some distance away racing toward her. Behind him, three monks followed in desperate pursuit. Ignoring the calls of the monks for him to stop, the boy bent the air currents around his legs, sending him at a breakneck speed into the girl's outstretched arms. The force of the impact was enough for the girl to have to take a few steps back to avoid losing her balance. When she looked down, she saw her brother's large grey eyes staring up at her._

_"Aang..." The girl whispered, bittersweet tears forming in her eyes. She would have the chance to say goodbye to her brother after all, but as she looked down at him, the last piece of her family she had left, she no longer knew if she could._

_The three monks that had been following Aang came to a stop a short distance in front of the two siblings, taking a moment to catch their breath._

_"He got out of his dormitory." One gasped. "We couldn't catch him in time."_

_"Then maybe we should let it be." Gyatsu said sharply. "Treat it as the will of the universe."_

_The monk opened his mouth to protest, but quickly decided against it and shut his mouth again._

_"You shouldn't have disobeyed the monks, Aang." The girl said softly._

_Aang buried his face in her robe. "I know, but... I felt like you were sad." He grinned up at her. "The arrows make it easier for me to feel you."_

_"That is because they connect all who bear them." She murmured. Looking up at the monks, she slowly proceeded. "Aang... I will be going away for a while."_

_Aang seemed excited by this. "Where? Are you visiting the Earth Kingdom? Fire Nation? Can't I come?"_

_The girl put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Not this time."_

_The young airbender's face fell. "How long will you be gone?"_

_Crouching down, the girl gently put her arms around Aang. "Not for... not for a very long time."_

_Aang pulled away, a look of horror on his face. "Why? Why do you have to..." His large eyes began brimming with tears. "It's the arrows, isn't it? I don't want them anymore if they make you go away!"_

_The boy tried to conceal the arrow on his forehead, pulling his shirt over his head in a desperate attempt to make the problem disappear. The girl quickly reached out and pulled his shirt back down, revealing her brother's tear-stained face._

_"No Aang, you must never think like that. The arrows are good, they're important." She looked him in the eye. "They keep us connected. No matter what, we will always be connected."_

_Aang wrapped his arms around his sister's waist. "What will I do without you?"_

_Hot tears rolling down her cheeks, she leaned in close to her brother._

_"I will always be with you when you need me. I promise."_

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Almika sat on her knees in front of one of the few trees that grew outside the outer wall. The snow was soaking into the fabric of her skirt, but she took no notice. After much convincing, she had persuaded Zuko to return to the camp, leaving her alone to fully grasp what had happened. A single tear ran down her face as she ran her thumb over the thin carvings on the two small wooden disks she clutched in her hand. She untied the knot on the bottom of the piece of twine that had held them together and slid one of the disks off. She held it in the palm of her hand for a moment, gazing at the familiar spiral insignia of the air nomads. Almika touched the wooden piece to the arrow on her forehead in the same way she had done when she had bid her last farewell to Gyatso over one century ago. Gyatso was wrong, there was nothing left to connect her to her old home. She remembered the large grey eyes of her brother looking up into hers, and the promise she'd made him. Closing her eyes, she placed the wooden charm in the snow at the base of the tree and returned to her sitting position, her hands, now empty, clasped together in her lap. She hung her head, feeling a second onslaught of tears beginning to well up inside her.

"I'm sorry Aang. I failed you."

With this, she covered her face with her hands and wept.

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Aang picked his way along the rocky landscape, careful not to make too much noise. Sokka had been adamantly clear that they were not to make so much as a sound while he was tracking. This, Aang soon found, was to be a very difficult task. He could hardly contain his anxiety, and making it worse was the horrible hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach that had been plaguing him since late that morning. Frighteningly similar to the feeling he had experienced at the Southern Air Temple. Not exactly the most comforting feeling to have on a mission to find your long lost fire nation captive sister. Aang gave a slight shudder, praying that her captors hadn't harmed her.

As if reading his thoughts, Katara crept closer to him and whispered, "Don't worry, Aang. She'll be okay."

"I heard that whispering." Sokka hissed, earning himself a frosty glare from Katara. "What about 'complete and utter _silence_' do you not understand?"

"You're whispering too Sokka." Aang grinned.

"Well that's just because… you…" Sokka gave a frustrated groan. "Can we all _please_ be quiet before we're captured by firebenders?"

Aang and Katara gave him a thumbs-up. Annoyed, Sokka returned to his tracking.

They walked in silence for a while, Sokka in the lead with Aang and Katara trailing behind. Finally, Sokka raised his hand, signaling them to stop.

"What is it?" Katara asked.

Sokka put to fingers to his lips and cupped a hand to his ear, silently telling them to listen carefully. Katara gave him an exasperated look, but Aang stood frozen. He had heard it too.

A gentle sobbing, drifting over them with the wind. Aang knew instantly. It was his sister.

He couldn't take it anymore. Dashing out from behind the outcropping of rocks they had been using for cover, Aang ran blindly in the direction of the sobbing. He vaguely registered the frantic voices of Katara and Sokka, urging him to come back, but he didn't stop. His sister was here, she was in trouble, and he was going to find her no matter how many firebenders stood in his way.

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Zuko slumped against a snow-covered rock, examining the flame cupped in his hand. It flickered for a moment, then extinguished as he smothered it in his fist. He sighed. The waterbender had added much more complication to his life. Complication he did not need. He closed his eyes and thought of his father, of what he would say. His deep authoritive voice roared in his head like some mighty caged beast.

_The girl is an enemy. An enemy to the fire nation. You have all you need to know from her, now continue on your quest for the Avatar! No, don't second-guess your actions, that is a sign of weakness. The water tribe miscreant's welfare is none of your concern. I don't want to see you fail me again._

From somewhere deep in his mind, his uncle's words echoed in.

_The girl has feelings for you, Zuko… people are not pawns for you to use. There is more to life than the Avatar…_

Zuko shook his head. His uncle was wrong. Finding the Avatar was everything! Why, the search for the Avatar…

_He was just a boy… he was just a little boy…_

Almika's soft voice rang through his head, each heartbroken word bringing deeper pangs of guilt. He finished his thought: …the search for the Avatar led to the destruction of lives. Many lives. Zuko's mind returned to his own dogged pursuit of the Avatar, and suddenly it was his own voice that echoed in his head.

_Including your own._

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Aang was close now. He could more than hear it, he could feel it. In his frenzied rush, he stumbled over a low outcropping of rock. The land under the rocks sloped downward sharply and Aang found himself falling with a soft thud in the snow. A bit sore, he picked himself up and looked around to see where he'd ended up. Once he registered what he saw, he stood motionless, his breath coming in short shallow gasps. A sixteen year old girl sat in front of a dead tree, her shoulders hunched with her hands on the ground, supporting her weight. Her entire body jerked with the ferocity of her sobbing.

Aang took an unsure step forward. The name he hadn't spoken in over a hundred years came to his lips like an old friend.

"Almika?"

The sobbing ceased. A red, tear-stained face turned to look at him. Their eyes met, and the blood drained from the girl's face.

"Aang?" She whispered. "How… how is it possible?"

Tears of joy sprang to the young boy's eyes as his sister stood up. It had been three years since he'd last seen her – only a year older than himself when she left. In those three years much had changed. Her hair had grown long and she had traded in most of her air nomad clothing for water tribe garments. She had always been strong willed, but with the passing of years had gained a deeper sense of maturity and inner strength. But her eyes still sparkled in the same way they always had whenever she saw him, and Aang couldn't help but smile at the soothing familiarity.

Almika spread her arms wide and Aang was only to glad to comply. He rushed into her outstretched arms and stood with her in tight embrace.

"I thought I'd lost you forever." His sister whispered, not daring to loosen her grip on the young boy in her arms for fear he'd be swept away from her again.

Aang buried his face in her robe and smiled through tears of joy. All the years they had been apart, the war, his responsibilities as Avatar, all melted away. He was back in his sister's arms, back where he belonged, and all was right in the world.

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"Why didn't you stop him?" Sokka hissed, attempting to run stealthily through the snow.

"I couldn't! He just… just ran!" Katara cried, on the verge of tears. She was well aware that she should have been quicker to react, and she knew that she would never be able to forgive herself if something happened to the young airbender.

"Okay, okay, let's just find him." Sokka said quickly. He turned. "He went this way."

The two siblings crept their way through the snow, following the small trail of footprints. The trail came to an abrupt stop at an outcropping of snow-capped rocks. Sokka bent down into a crouch, pulling his sister down beside him, to take shelter behind the cover of the rocks.

"Wait here until I tell you." He whispered. "We don't know what we'll find."

Katara bit her lip and nodded as her brother snaked his way over the rocks to get a better view. She waited in silence, until she heard her brother's voice.

"What the…?" Sokka rasped in confusion.

"What? What do you see?" Katara hissed, impatient to know the well-being of her friend.

"He's hugging some girl…"

"What?" Katara exclaimed, then quickly controlled herself. "…You mean his sister, right?"

"It can't be. She's _way_ too young. Couldn't be more than a couple years older than us. I'll admit, the resemblance is uncanny, but…"

Katara didn't even hear the last sentence. She was too busy clawing her way up the rock.

"Aang!"

The spell was broken. Aang looked over at the rocks, now home to two faces peering over it. He felt his sister move, looking as well.

"Guys! Come here!"

Katara was quick to come, but Sokka took longer, reluctant to leave his safe cover of rocks. Katara stood a short distance away from Aang and Almika, eyeing the girl critically.

"So Aang… who exactly is this?"

Aang grinned as he and his sister parted, facing Katara and Sokka.

"This is my sister."

Katara and Sokka were speechless. Finally, Sokka broke the shocked silence.

"That's impossible! Your sister is over a hundred years old, that couldn't possibly be her!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Well I'm a hundred and twelve years old, and I look good for my age." Aang looked up at his sister nonetheless. "But… how _is_ it possible?"

"You tell me. Apparently I've been entombed in a wall of ice for the past hundred years." She squeezed her brother's shoulder. "How are _you_ here? I thought… I thought you were gone."

"I was trapped in an iceburg, but they saved me." He pointed to the two water tribe siblings.

Almika gazed at them thankfully. "Thank you. You have no idea what this little guy means to me." She buffed the top of the young monk's head playfully with her sleeve.

Katara nodded, understanding completely. Sokka however, was not convinced.

"Wait a minute, you two are trying to tell me that you both were frozen in ice, at pretty much the _exact_ same time?" He shook his head. "It just doesn't make sense!"

The group was silent for a moment, letting this sink in. It really didn't make any sense, aside from the extremely minute chance that it was in fact a coincidence. The whole situation did indeed seem utterly impossible. Was it by the power of some outside force? Aang didn't think that even the Avatar's power could do such a thing. Suddenly, it dawned on Aang. It wasn't a completely sound theory, but it was the best he had.

"Of course… the Avatar spirit!"

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Whew, that took longer than I expected. Slightly rushed ending, but other than that I think I really like this chapter :D Hope you like too! I'll try to get the next chapters up quicker (I'm already planning a sequel to this which I can't wait to start working on) and maybe later I'll post some little tidbits of a script I'm working on at the bottom here. Yes that's right, I write scripts. Not professionally at the moment, but hopefully soon. Makes sense now why I have a tough time sometimes putting in all this little detaily nonsense that's supposed to be in stories, now doesn't it? I'm too used to just putting in the basic actions and dialogue with the character's name over it XD So please, read and review! My ego needs feeding!

And remember, critique… no flames. Not nice.


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